I'll Just Be Five More Minutes
The Weekly(ish) Five: Five things for those with ADHD...and those without
I’ll Just Be Five More Minutes
My father used to tell me that the epitaph on my gravestone should be “Five more minutes, please,” so how could I not love this book. Chances are that Emily Farris is just like the rest of us with ADHD, but so much funnier. Anyone who was late-diagnosed will nod in recognition as she looks back on all the times she thought she simply couldn’t get her shit together or that she was just “kind of a mess, maybe even a lazy asshole”—the disorganization, obsessions, time blindness, oversharing, interrupting, impulsive spending, forgetfulness, failing to show up for people, even the people she loved. And they may relate as well to how she comes to see everything differently through the lens of a person finally, gratefully, diagnosed. It’s funny, but also heartbreaking, because she was the girl who, like so many of us, struggled under the weight of being labeled both an underachiever and overachiever; sponged up the message that she was both too much and not enough; and forged an identity based on the perceptions of others. “I internalized the criticisms and carried around a lot of shame,” she writes, “while I exhausted myself trying to fit into a world that was not built for my brain.” I’ll Just Be Five More Minutes is a book to read when you want to feel that someone gets you. It’s also the book to give to those who don’t get you.
ADHD for Smart Ass Women
Her tagline tells you most of what you need to know about Tracy Otsuka: “Fitting in is Overrated.” A certified ADHD coach, author, and podcaster, Otsuka, like so many women, learned she had ADHD after her son was diagnosed. When a psychiatrist encouraged the boy to lower his expectations, she called bullshit. She’s been calling out the bullshit ever since, helping women take aim against limitations and claim their brilliance. On her ADHD for Smart Ass Women podcast, she’s one of the brightest voices in the ADHD podcast universe, conversing with equally bright, creative, and inspiring guests. It’s compulsively listenable, and for ADHDers there’s the risk of going down a rabbit hole, but it’s a great trip. Of more than 300 shows, my favorite might be episode 230: “Why ADHD is a Feminist Issue,” which addresses the way gender influences how women are diagnosed and treated.
Motley Bloom
Motley Bloom is a new magazine, both print and digital, that lifts up the voices of people who identify as having neurodivergent traits and celebrates their vision. The articles, written from a perspective of lived experience, explore a wide range of topics and experiences that are seldom addressed elsewhere, for example, synesthesia, self-acceptance, life as a neurodivergent Black woman, and Hollywood’s problematic take on autism. One of my favorites is “Unapologetically Joyful: How My Neurodivergent Exuberance Challenges Expectations,” about how people with autism have an extraordinary capacity for joy.
The Hypercuriosity Theory of ADHD
On the Evolution and Psychiatry Substack, look for an interesting conversation between Dr. Gurjot Brar and Anne-Laure Le Cunff about Cunff’s recent paper, “Distractibility and Impulsivity in ADHD as an Evolutionary Mismatch of High Trait Curiosity,” published in Evolutionary Psychological Science. In her research, Cunff, neuroscientist and author of Tiny Experiments, flips the switch on ADHD features, looking past what she calls a deficit-based approach to ADHD and into the possibility that what we know as symptoms may be adaptive features that provided an evolutionary edge. She’s recently scored $200,000 in funding to pursue this research, so stay tuned to her newsletter on hypercuriosity to learn more.
Trevor Noah on ADHD
Few people are as eloquent as Trevor Noah on the topic of ADHD. Or as entertaining. You may have seen him discuss his experience with ADHD and depression on 60 Minutes or tuned in to his conversation with Neal Brennan on the BLOCKS podcast. Now, in a recent episode of his own weekly podcast, What Now? With Trevor Noah—“Neuro-Spicy: Discussing ADHD with Dr. Kristin Carothers”—he and co-host comedian Christiana Mbakwe Medina have a fascinating chat with the clinical psychologist about symptoms, diagnosis, associated conditions, and myths and misconceptions associated with ADHD.